French court's decision on Riad Salameh's assets is set to reach Justice Ministry in two weeks

The French judiciary has notified Lebanon of a decision to seize the funds and assets of Riad Salameh, the Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, in favor of the Lebanese treasury.

Lebanese Justice Minister, Henri Khoury, announced the approval of the French judiciary for the requests submitted by two French lawyers on behalf of the Lebanese state to seize the funds and assets belonging to the Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, his brother Raja Salameh, his assistant Marianne Howayek, and his Ukrainian girlfriend, Anna Kozakova.

This article was originally published in and translated from Lebanese newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat.   

A prominent judicial source confirmed to "Al-Sharq Al-Awsat" that the head of the Justice Ministry's committee of cases, Judge Helena Iskandar, received the decision of the Court of Appeal in Paris, issued on Tuesday, which confirmed the seizure of Riad Salameh's assets.

The source stated, "the decision needs two weeks to reach the Lebanese Justice Ministry through diplomatic channels." It also noted that the decision is considered a first step towards the recovery of these funds for the benefit of the Lebanese state.

After the decision to seize Salameh's funds, the French judicial file takes one of two paths. It either transfers the file to the Criminal Court of Appeal in Paris, which would expedite the return of the funds to Lebanon, or French Judge Aude Buresi insists on keeping the case and proceeds with her investigations, which would entail a complex legal process that may take more than a year to complete.